Section 8

"His sufferings were rewarded the first night of his fast. Morn- ing Star appeared to him in the form of a human being. Standing in front of him a short distance from his feet. Morning Star spoke to him:
"T have come to console you and to give you the power you asked for. I know your life and pity your circumstances. But all this will change and you will become a leader of war parties. You will own many horses, and you will eventually become one of the wealthiest men of your tribe.'
"Takes-Back-Twice then noticed that the man carried in his hand an arrow. T have brought this arrow,' the vision said, 'to give to you. Watch very carefully and see what happens when I throw it.'
"Takes-Back-Twice saw the man throw the arrow toward the east. It looked like a streak of lightning. It looked like a meteor as it fell through the sky, followed by various colored lights. Takes- Back-Twice saw the arrow strike the earth. Then, in his vision, he saw his whole life before him. He saw all the property and the great number of horses he would own. He saw various tipis in which he would live. Among his horses he saw many different colored ones.
"Then the Morning Star told him that he would become a leading chief among the Crows, that he would live to see the white men come to his country in ever-increasing numbers, and that they also would recognize him as a chief. 'My power,' said the visitant, 'has brought you to this spot where my special tipi stands. When you return you must make seven arrows, each one differing in color, and each forming a separate bundle.'
"Morning Star then taught Takes-Back-Twice the ceremony
50 CROW INDIAN MEDICINE BUNDLES
for opening the bundle, together with the many songs that belonged to it. (Plain Feather remembered only two of these songs: (i), 'Any direction I may go I shall find horses.' (2), The medicine arrow has spoken.')
"After he completed his instructions the man gave Takes- Back-Twice the arrow he carried. It is claimed, therefore, that the original arrow medicine bundle contained an arrow received directly from the spirits and not made by man. That arrow was painted red to indicate the wealth the owner would derive through it. The arrow feather signified that the owner would become a leader of war parties. The different colored strands of horsehair attached to it showed that he would possess many horses of different colors.
"The arrow bundle always had to be kept tied to the end of a lodge pole outside the tipi during the day. At sunset it was brought inside and tied to the north pole of the lodge. In the morning it was carried around the right side of the tipi, and at night it was brought in form the left side. All arrow bundles have the taboo that those who live in the owner's tipi must not throw a sharp-pointed implement or weapon inside the tipi. Nor was a menstruating woman permitted in the tipi at night when the bundle was in it.
"Takes-Back-Twice made seven arrow bundles. Each arrow was a different color. He always kept the red one, given to him by his visitant."
The most important points of difference between Hillside's account, as published by Lowie, and the account of Plain Feather, given above, is that Hillside gave the number of bundles made by Takes-Back-Twice as four, while Plain Feather said that seven bundles were made. Hillside said that Takes-Back-Twice was visited by the Seven Stars. Plain Feather called the visitant Morning Star.
There are at present (1925) six arrow medicine bundles among the Crows. The writer, therefore, is inclined to accept Plain Feather's statement as to the number of bundles made. However, the very fact that seven bundles were made would indicate that the supernatural visitant was the Dipper, or Seven Stars, rather than the Morning Star.
WAR MEDICINE BUNDLES 5I
ARROWS FROM ARROW MEDICINE BUNDLES FIGURE 15
[Three arrows contained in three arrow medicine bundles collected by William Wildschut are pictured in Figure 15. The arrow on the left (in bundle cat. no. 15/3277), was purchased from Mrs. High Rock Medicine. It is 36" long overall. The head is a tri- angular piece of rawhide 4 J" long, bound to the shaft with sinew wrapping. Both head and shaft are painted black. Two eagle feathers are attached to the shaft with sinew. They are dyed red. Horse hair pendants, also bound to the shaft, are purple.
The arrow in the center (from bundle cat. no 12/6428) was obtained from Fire Bear. It is 31 J" long. The head of stone is 3" long. The shaft is painted black and the feathers and horse hair pendants are black, red, green, and yellow.
The arrow on the right (from bundle cat. no. 14/6482) was pur- chased from Two-White-Black-Bird. It measures 30I" long. The head is of rawhide 4 J" long. Both head and shaft are painted red. The feathers are red and the horse hair pendants are red and natural black.— JCE]. 20
INDIVIDUAL WAR MEDICINE BUNDLES
The war medicine bundles of which no copies were made were both numerous and varied. In the following pages are described a number of these which were collected for the museum and about which important information was obtained in the field.
TWO leggings' war medicine BUNDLE FIGURES 17 AND l8
This bundle was obtained from Two Leggings, Chief of the River Crows in the summer of 1922. (cat. no. 14/6481). He said that the bundle was first made by Weasel Moccasin. He transferred it to Wolf Chaser, and elder brother of Two Leggings, who in turn transferred it to Two Leggings at the time the latter started to go to war and before he had acquired a medicine of his own.
2" Lowie (1922. p. 394) learned of five medicine arrows among the Crows — Fire Bear's black one and an imitation of it owned by Bushy Tail; Hill- side's red one and a copy of it owned by Old Tail; and a blue one which belonged to Flathead Woman.
52 CROW INDIAN MEDICINE BUNDLES
The cover of this bundle (Fig. 17) is a top-opening rawhide case 18'' wide and 10" high. The painting on one side of it depicts the vision of Weasel Moccasin, in which a black horse was seen standing in the sky. It gave him the medicine represented inside the bundle. While in the sky the horse was struck by lightning, represented by red zigzag lines.
The articles inside the bundle, shown in Fig. 18, were said by Two Leggings to have the following symbolic meanings: (i), A feather necklace was tied around the horse's neck. By its power the horse may feel as light as a feather and therefore be able to run faster and easier. (2), An eagle plume attached to a hawk feather is tied to the horse's tail to help assure the same result. (3), The little bag of herbs is used as a medicine for the horse whenever it becomes weary; a pinch of the herbs is placed inside the horse's mouth and in its nostrils for the purpose of renewing the animal's strength and wind. (4), the bear hair and bear claws fastened around the horse's neck are supposed to be potent in keeping the horse fat and in prime condition, even during an otherwise ex- hausting ride. (5), The swallow is significant of the power of that bird to fly speedily through a great flock of its kind without touching one; the owner of the medicine ascribes this power to himself and his horse in being able to evade a number of enemies without mishap. (6), The blue cloth represents good luck in general. (7), A strip of otter skin with an eagle claw attached to it is used as a necklace. This necklace was worn over the left shoulder and under the right arm. The eagle claw is symbolic of the Ughtning striking the horse and ending in eagle claws, as described in the vision, as well as of the power of the eagle to pounce upon its enemy, a power which is thereby given to the owner of the bundle. (8), A horse's hoof (not shown in the illustration) is thought to impart the power to make easy the capture of enemy horses. (9), The colored ribbons, attached to No. 10, are emblematic of the sky as seen in the vision. (10), When going into battle the owner ties to his chest the eagle's head contained in the bundle and repeats the related songs and prayers. By wearing the eagle in this wise, not only is the flight of the bird symbolized, but the owner absorbs the power of flight, vision and noiseless yet swift approach, to the confusion of the enemy and his horses. (11), An eagle-feather, worn attached to the back of the head, has the same symbolic value as No. 10.
During the ceremony the owner smoked a pipe filled with a
WAR MEDICINE BUNDLES 53
mixture of buffalo chips, sweetgrass, and tobacco, pointed the stem toward the earth, and expressed the wish that he wanted to be on earth a little longer if only for the purpose of taking revenge on the enemy. After expressing his desire the stem was pointed in the direction of the enemy while the owner said, "Their hearts are weak and we will catch them easily."
Two Leggings understood that this medicine was given to Weasel Moccasin by the Thunderbird, represented in the lightning ending in eagle claws painted on the cover of the bundle. (Fig. 17). Inside the bundle, the Thunderbird is represented by the eagle head, claws and feathers. ^^
FAT S WAR MEDICINE BUNDLE FIGURES 19 AND 20
This bundle (cat. no. 11/8293) also was obtained from Two Leggings, who told me that this medicine was given to Fat in a vision by the Evening Star. From Fat it passed to Buffalo Plume, then to Fire Heart, Medicine Bear, and finally to Two Leggings.
The paintings on the cylindrical rawhide case recall the time of night when the vision was seen. The moon (painted red) is about a quarter of its full size. It stands in a clear sky surrounded by sharp-pointed, fleecy clouds (faintly colored in yellow, blue and green) represented by the triangles above and below the crescent moon. (Fig. 19).
The Evening Star is represented inside the bundle by the German silver disc fastened to the eagle feather. (Center of Fig. 20). This disc is 2 J" in diameter. The small incisions around its edge indicate the unknown shape of this star, which no man can clearly define. Two triangles incised on the disc are symbolic representa- tions of the star's rays. Ceremonial accessories in the bundle in- clude feathers of owl, duck and eagle, an eagle head, and a braid of sweetgrass. The piece of orange cotton cloth in which these articles are wrapped appears as the background. This medicine was believed to make the owner invulnerable. ^^
2^ This bundle was first described in a brief article in Indian Notes. (Wildschut, 1926c. pp. 284-288).
22 Lowie (1922. p. 421) mentioned a "brass full-moon" which served Old Crow as a war medicine.
54 CROW INDIAN MEDICINE BUNDLES
BIG shoulder's war MEDICINE BUNDLE FIGURE 21
Another interesting war medicine, obtained during the year 1923, originally belonged to Big Shoulder, one of the camp chiefs of the Mountain Crows and a well-known warrior, (cat. no. 12/6421). During the time Plenty Coups was still an ambitious warrior Big Shoulder was often his companion. From Plenty Coups the writer obtained the following information regarding this bundle :
A Crow war party discovered a Sioux camp near the present location of Forsyth, Montana. From this camp the Crows captured about 100 horses, but they were discovered by the enemy and pursued. In the battle that followed two Crows were killed. They were Chicken Feet and White- Spot-on-the-Neck, the brother and brother-in-law of Big Shoulder.
The Crows were camped on the Yellowstone near the site of Huntley when the returning war party reported the death of these young men. Big Shoulder then went out on the prairie, and choos- ing a place called Bear Home, a sharp rimrock about five miles north of present Billings, began to fast. Here he stayed for about five days before he received a vision.
Below him in the ground he saw the home of the buffalo. Some of the animals emerged from their underground home and came to him. They invited him to accompany them to their tipi. Big Shoulder followed, and upon entering the tipi found that it changed into an Indian lodge, and the buffalo changed into humans. Big Shoulder was given a seat and he saw that the buffalo beings were playing a game of shinny. Whenever one of the players hit the baU a streak of light seemed to follow its course. He instinc- tively knew that these lights represented stars. The balls seemed to be hit beyond the horizon and, whenever one disappeared, horses and other property desirable to the Indians seemed to appear. The game lasted a long time. When it was finished one of the buffalo gave Big Shoulder a buffalo horn headdress to be worn as a protection in battle. Another buffalo gave him the medicine represented in this bundle.
The painted stick (Fig. 21) symboUzes a shinny stick, finished at the end with a crude carving intended to represent a buffalo head. The stick is 17!" long. The forepart is painted red to sym- bolize blood or revenge, and the remainder of the shaft green, signifying the earth. Six brass bells attached to the pendant re-
WAR MEDICINE BUNDLES 55
present the stars in general. The pendant eagle feather is a symbol of the owner's body. When the medicine is used on the warpath this feather is detached and worn in the hair. The red-painted feather (below the eagle feather) represents fire. The otter skin attached to the handle is intended to assist the bundle owner in obtaining good dreams.
Different bird feathers in the bundle (not illustrated) represent various patrons seen in the owner's vision and which were thought to give protection to him when on the warpath. Seven hawk feathers and a strip of horsehair were included in the bundle to help the owner obtain many horses and to increase his own herd.
Formerly buckskin balls were attached to the outside of the rawhide case, representing the shinny balls as seen in the vision. Eagle feathers attached to these balls were thought to possess the power, given by the eagle, to protect horse and rider. When asked for the loan of this medicine, Big Shoulder would detach these buckskin balls and let them be taken on the warpath while he kept the bundle at home.
LONG OTTER S WAR MEDICINE BUNDLE FIGURE 22
As a young man Long Otter had a vision in which the Morning Star appeared to him in human form and gave him medicine power. This is represented by the bundle which was obtained from Max Big Man, who had inherited it from his mother. Swan Face, on April 14, 192 1. (cat. no. 11/5068).
This sacred medicine is contained in a cylindrical rawhide case, and wrapped in a piece of blue flannel and three layers of cotton cloth. It consists of a wooden hoop 7" in diameter and completely wrapped with rawhide which is painted in alternate yellow and blue segments. The hoop originally had a sinew netting, which in more recent years was replaced with a netting of commercial thread. Eagle feathers are tied to the top and sides of this hoop.
On one side of the hoop is tied a cut rawhide figure of a man 7^" high. The head and legs of the man are in profile while the upper body is twisted to show both shoulders and both arms. The back of the head of this figure is painted red, face and shoulders are yellow, and the remainder is blue. This figure represents the Morning Star as seen in human form in Long Otter's vision. The colors were those worn by Morning Star at that time and they
56 CROW INDIAN MEDICINE BUNDLES
were used by Long Otter to paint his face and body before meeting the enemy.
Long Otter was very successful whenever he took this medicine with him on the warpath. It soon became known among the Crows as a powerful war medicine.
IRON FORKS WAR MEDICINE BUNDLE FIGURE 23
A war medicine bundle which originated in a vision of Iron Forks was obtained in 1927. (cat. no. 15/3378). Old Coyote supplied information regarding the origin of this bundle.
Iron Forks was a poor young man. He was so ashamed of his poverty that he seldom came into camp until after dark. Once when the Crows were camped along the banks of the Missouri, Iron Forks took a bath in the river. He noticed in midstream and not far from the camp a large driftwood tree. He felt particularly miserable that day, and this tree somehow attracted him. He decided to swim out to it and to use it as a fasting place. After the necessary preparations, he swam to the tree and laid down on this uncomfortable couch, fasting and praying to the "Without Fires," imploring their aid in seeking a powerful medicine. His fasting place could easily be seen from the village. The Crows on shore told each other that Iron Forks was very foolish to fast in such a dangerous place. He would surely be devoured by the under- water monsters.
However, Iron Forks stayed in his chosen place for two days and two nights. At dawn of the second day he received a vision of a human being coming toward him, walking on the water. When the man approached the driftwood he spoke: "They have sent me to come for you."